Fated to a Cougar: 4 (Cougar Surrender) (6 page)

After Grady walked out of the room and closed the door
behind him, Sage took off the towel she wore and dressed. She was now intrigued
as to what he’d tell her if he wanted his family present when he did so. And
she wasn’t sure what he’d say to explain why his head had healed quicker than
should have been possible.

Once she was ready, Sage stepped out into the hall, where
Grady waited for her. He took her hand in his as he guided her to the stairs.
They walked down the curved stairway to the foyer, then into a large living
room. His parents were there along with another couple Sage assumed were his
brother Jase and his wife Katarina.

Grady’s mom held Josh. She stood when she saw them. “There’s
Auntie Sage.” She passed the baby to Sage and asked, “Couldn’t sleep?”

She shook her head. “No. Thanks for helping to watch Josh.”

“It was no hardship. And I’ve already told Grady I’ll look
after the baby when you two go to the funeral home. I also want you to invite
Josh’s grandparents over here for dinner when you’re finished. They obviously
haven’t seen him since they arrived.”

“Thanks. I’m sure they’d like that.”

“Good. And you and Josh are more than welcome to stay the
night with Grady. You shouldn’t be alone at a time like this. It’s not as if we
don’t have the room.”

Sage couldn’t help noticing how young Grady’s mom looked.
Olivia didn’t look old enough to have two adult children. If Sage had passed
her on the street, she would have guessed her to be around thirty-five years
old. Even his dad Charles looked the same age.

“I guess we can stay over,” Sage said. She actually didn’t
like the idea of being alone. She’d have too much time on her hands and would
think about Macy and how she was gone, which wouldn’t be good.

“Great. You must be hungry. I’ll have our chef whip you up
something to eat.”

Olivia hurried out of the living room. Sage looked at Josh,
who smiled. She still thought it was a blessing he had no idea what was going
on. But she wouldn’t let him grow up not knowing about his parents. She would
make sure he’d know them, and he wouldn’t be calling her “Mom” either. She’d
only be Auntie Sage.

Making the funeral arrangements for her sister was the toughest
thing Sage had ever done. She was more than grateful Grady had decided to go
with her. Him just being with her helped her get through some of the rougher
moments.

Hank’s parents had accepted Olivia’s offer for dinner. Once
they were done at the funeral home, they decided to return to the hotel before
they went to Grady’s house since there were more than a few hours to kill in
between. Sage had Grady drive to her place to pick up Josh’s playpen. On the
way, she also had him stop at a store to buy Josh some new clothes since there
was no way she was going to her sister’s house to get more.

At her place Sage led Grady upstairs to her bedroom. She
packed a bag with a change of clothes before she set to work closing up the
playpen to take with them. After she had it collapsed and bundled, ready to go,
she sat on the bed beside him and folded the blankets. She set them aside, then
turned to him.

“Will your mom mind if we take a little longer getting back
to the house?” Sage asked.

“I doubt it.”

“Good.”

Sage threw herself into Grady’s arms, pushing him onto his
back. She landed on top of him and kissed him hungrily. She needed to get as
close to him as she could, have him make her feel alive.

Grady put his arms around her and kissed her back with the
same fervor. He pushed his tongue into her mouth and thoroughly tasted her.
Sage spread her legs and brought her pussy on top of his hard cock. She rocked
against him, making them both moan.

As arousal beat at her, Sage left Grady’s mouth and kissed a
trail down to the side of his jaw. She reached between them and dragged the
bottom of his shirt up. He quickly pulled it the rest of the way off and threw
it over the side of the bed. His arm then snaked around her waist and held her
to him as he positioned them both in the center of the bed, giving them more
room.

After they settled in place, Sage shifted lower on Grady’s
body, licking and kissing as she went. A cat-sounding purr rumbled out of him,
something he seemed to do a lot during sex. She didn’t mind, it turned her on
just as much as his moans and groans. She figured he had a different way of
showing how much he enjoyed what she did to him.

Sage paused at his cougar head pendant and brushed it with
her finger. It was warm to the touch, warmer than it should be from Grady’s
body heat. She couldn’t explain her fascination with it. The thought of taking
it from him once again flashed through her mind but she pushed it aside. There
was something else she wanted more.

Lower she went, taking the time to drag her tongue along his
washboard abs. At the top of his jeans, she undid them and parted the material.
Sage ran a finger down the length of Grady’s cock through his underwear. It
jerked in response.

She met Grady’s gaze as she took hold of the top of his
pants and underwear and tugged them both down past his hips. “Earlier I didn’t
get to explore as much as I wanted. I don’t intend to miss out this time.”

“By all means. Explore to your heart’s content. It might
kill me but I’m giving you the control.”

“If that’s the case, then I want you completely naked.”

Grady helped Sage as she pulled his jeans and underwear the
rest of the way off and tossed them aside. She feasted her eyes on him. He had
a great body, muscular and cut but not overly bulky. But what really made her
mouth water was his cock. Fully engorged, it was thick and long. From their
previous lovemaking, she already knew it filled her pussy all the way up. And
he definitely could use it to make her want to scream his name in pleasure.

She straddled his thighs and wrapped her fingers around his
shaft. She pumped it a few times until a drop of pre-cum appeared on the tip.
Grady groaned, his hips lifting off the mattress, thrusting his erection
tighter into her hand.

Sage firmly grasped him at the base and circled the head of
his cock with her tongue. Grady groaned louder, a purr mixing with the sound.
She gave him one last lick before opening her mouth and taking the head inside.
She sucked back more of his length, then slowly lifted her head until only the
tip remained. His hands fisted the covers under him as she took him in and out,
taking as much as she could handle.

His cock grew even harder. “Sage,” he said with a moan. “I’m
getting too close. I want to be inside you.”

Sage sucked him almost to the back of her throat, then
released his shaft. She sat up. “And I want you there.”

She watched Grady as she took off her shirt and bra. His
gaze followed her every movement. Next came her pants. Her panties, she took
her time removing. She was already wet for him, more than ready to take his
cock into her pussy.

Once she was as naked as he, she straddled his hips, then
lowered herself onto his erection. It stretched her as she worked it in and out
until she completely impaled herself. Sage lifted to her knees, sliding him
almost free of her body only to push back down until he was all the way inside.

Sage continued to ride Grady, clenching her inner muscles
around his plunging cock. She set a slow and steady pace that had her climax inching
toward the surface. He reached up and palmed her breasts, tugging on her taut
nipples. She placed her hands over his to keep them there. It was just enough
extra stimulation she needed to have her panting, straining for her release.

As Grady let out a strangled moan and his cock pulsed inside
her, Sage fell into her own orgasm. Her pussy clutched and released his shaft,
milking him as wave after wave of pleasure tore through her. Once it was over,
she collapsed onto his chest, gasping for breath. She found his cougar head
pendant with her hand and held on to it.

“That was pretty intense,” Grady said.

Lost in the moment, Sage blurted, “I love you.”

Grady cupped her face and brought her lips to his. He kissed
her slowly. “And I love you.”

His pendant warmed even more. Sage opened her hand and
looked at it. “Why are the cougar’s ruby eyes glowing?”

“They are?” Grady asked with something akin to hope in his
voice.

“Yeah. Look.” She sat up and lifted the pendant for him to
see. “And why do I have this almost overwhelming urge to put it around my own
neck?”

She couldn’t see what made the rubies glow. The light was
dim at best in the room since the curtains were closed and it was getting dark
out. It being the middle of January, the sun set around four thirty in the
afternoon.

“Take it.”

“What?”

“Take the pendant. You’re meant to have it. I want to see
you wearing it.”

The way Grady spoke, it was if the idea of her doing what
he’d said was something that would mean a lot to him. Sage couldn’t deny the
fact she really, really wanted his necklace. And she wasn’t even one for
wearing jewelry.

“Take it,” Grady whispered.

Sage gripped the pendant again and slowly pulled it over
Grady’s head. She turned it over and looked at the glowing eyes before she
focused back on him. He lay there intently, watching her with a look of
anticipation on his face. She took hold of it by its chain, turned it so the
cougar head would face out, then slipped it over her head.

Grady held his breath as Sage lowered his pendant around her
neck. Once it settled on her chest just above her cleavage, he sucked in a
breath. The mating bond formed in an instant, joining their souls. From the
look of surprise on her face, he guessed she felt it too.

Katarina had been right. Sage was the one. She was now his
mate since she’d claimed him when she took his pendant as her own. Not that she
knew that, but Grady did. Seeing her wear it, the love he had for her
solidified. She was his. The moment the bond formed between them, he’d gained
not only a mate but a nephew as well.

“What was that?” Sage asked as she searched his face. “I
felt something—”

He cut her off by sitting up and taking her lips in a heated
kiss. His cock went instantly rock hard inside her. He wanted her again. He
needed to show her with his body how much he loved her and was glad she was
his.

Grady held Sage close, then took her down to the mattress on
her back. He pumped between her legs, glorying in the feel of her pussy taking
his cock. She clutched his ass and pulled him in tighter as she lifted her hips
to meet each thrust.

He already knew he wasn’t going to last long. Grady hooked
one of Sage’s legs over his arm and spread her wider. He sank deeper. He angled
his cock in just the right way so it hit her G-spot. She moaned, her fingers
digging into the tops of his shoulders as she held on to him.

Then she panted his name as her inner muscles squeezed and
released his shaft. As she came, his balls rose closer to his body and his
point of no return tried to rush to the surface. He pushed it back. He wasn’t
ready to come just yet.

Grady waited until Sage settled under him after her climax
ended. He pulled out of her, then shifted to her side. With gentle hands, he
urged her over onto her stomach, then up onto her hands and knees. Once he had
her in that position, he came up behind her and stroked his hands down her back
to her hips.

He held her still as he probed her slick entrance with the
head of his cock. Grady purred at the feel of her wetness bathing the tip of
him. He stroked her pussy without entering her, rubbing her clit with each
pass. Sage pushed back and moaned.

Grady kept hold of Sage as he pushed forward and seated
himself to the hilt inside her with one stroke. He stilled as her pussy spasmed
around his length. After it ceased, he stroked in and out of her. She took more
of him in this position, and his balls slapped against her with each thrust.

He reached around her and found her clit. He rubbed it as he
surged into her. It ended up being enough to send her into another orgasm. She
moaned with her release and that pushed him over the edge. Grady pumped his
hips faster, then with a groan that bordered on a growl, he climaxed, filling
her with his cum.

With no more left to give, Grady wrapped an arm around Sage
and took them down onto the bed on their sides. Both of them were breathing as
if they’d run a marathon. He was satiated and didn’t know if he could move
again. All he wanted to do was hold his mate in his arms.

After what had just happened, there would be no getting
around telling Sage about him being a cougar shifter later that night. He
should have had that conversation with her once the ruby eyes in his pendant
had glowed, but he’d wanted to see if she would take it from him. Hopefully she
would accept him for what he was and not get too angry with him for not telling
her before the mating bond formed between them.

* * * * *

Sage and Grady arrived at his house twenty minutes after
they’d made love at her place. She helped him haul all the things they’d
brought inside. Olivia had greeted them and informed Sage that Josh had gone down
for a nap and that she’d put him upstairs on the bed in the master bedroom with
pillows around him so he wouldn’t roll off. Olivia had then asked how
everything had gone at the funeral home.

“Good,” Sage answered as she set down the bag she carried.

“And will Josh’s grandparents be coming for dinner?”

“Yes. They asked me to thank you for the invitation.” Sage
shrugged out of her winter jacket.

“Oh my goodness,” Olivia said as she looked at Sage, then at
Grady and back to Sage again.

“What?” Sage asked, not sure why Grady’s mother looked
awfully happy all of a sudden.

“You’re wearing Grady’s pendant.” Olivia’s smile grew even
bigger. She then gave her a hug.

Sage tentatively hugged the other woman back. “Ah, yeah, I
am. I didn’t realize it was that big a deal.”

Olivia let go of Sage and looked at her son. “You didn’t
tell her, did you?”

Grady gave his mother a pained smile. “It happened really
suddenly. I sort of didn’t want to spoil the mood. I’d already decided we were
going to have a talk with the rest of you. I figured it would be easier that
way.”

“Be sure you do, but I have to say I couldn’t be happier.
Now I get my wish.” Olivia gave Grady a kiss. “I have to go tell your father,
Jase and Katarina.” She then headed up the stairs to the upper level.

Sage turned to face Grady. “What was all that about? The way
your mom talked, you’d think we’d just gotten engaged or something.”

“I’m going to leave it at you taking my pendant is a bigger
deal to my family than you know. The rest I’ll tell you later tonight once
Josh’s grandparents leave.”

“Okay, I think.”

She wasn’t sure what to make of what had passed between
Grady and his mom. It was obvious they were keeping something from her for some
reason. They didn’t appear to think it was bad, since Olivia had been happy
about Sage wearing Grady’s pendant. That could stem from the fact the other
women of the house wore the same necklaces as well. Maybe in their eyes Grady
giving her his pendant was tantamount to him asking her to marry him, and she,
not knowing the significance, had accepted while in the dark about the whole
thing. She guessed she’d find out one way or the other later.

* * * * *

Sage spent the rest of the afternoon taking care of Josh.
Since they were eating dinner in the early evening shortly after the baby went
to bed for the night, she made sure she had him bathed and in his pajamas
before Hank’s parents arrived.

Bathing a six-month-old was a new experience for Sage. She
probably would have done a quicker job of it if Grady hadn’t offered to help by
getting into the whirlpool tub with Josh to hold him while she did the washing
part. Her nephew had a ball splashing them both, and he moved around so much
Grady said it was like holding on to a slippery fish.